December 2010 MMA News Archive - Page 6

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Fighting "Ruthless" pays off. That's because Robbie Lawler has been awarded the middleweight title shot he's been asking for as he will take on Ronaldo Souza at the upcoming Jan. 29 Strikeforce event, according to MMAFighting.com. Lawler went 2-1 in three fights in 2010, including two vicious knockouts that had Melvin Manhoef and Matt Lindland seeing tweety birds. In fact, his knockout of the latter was one of the most brutal KO's of the year. Savage enough that there were immediate calls for "The Law" to retire while "Ruthless" was pushed straight into a shot at the 185-pound strap. SF has yet to announce the event.

Takeya Mizugaki will reportedly make the jump to the big show as he squares off against once-beaten Francisco Rivera at UFC Live 3 “Sanchez vs. Kampmann.”
According to a report from MMA Weekly, the pair have agreed to meet at the March 3 event.
Mizugaki looks to erase the memory of his last appearance inside the cage, as the Japanese fighter was destroyed by Urijah Faber in the Team Alpha Male product's debut effort at bantamweight.

In staying with recent form, the The Quebec Athletic Commission issued each every one of the 22 fighters on this month's "UFC 124: St-Pierre vs. Koscheck II" fight card a medical suspension.
Fortunately for fight fans and UFC 124 competitors, only two of the directives are for more than 45 days.
UFC 124 main-card losers Josh Koscheck and Joe Stevenson each topped the list of medical suspensions from the recent event with 60-day orders.

It seemed like a great deal: a match in the Dominican Republic resort town of Punta Cana, with paid airfare and accommodations, on an event featuring multiple UFC veterans streamed worldwide via online pay-per-view.
That is what the fighters on Florida-based Nemesis Fight Promotions’ “MMA Global Invasion” card expected. What they appeared to have gotten was a surreal, disorganized evening of fights and paychecks which were not worth the paper they were written on.

Antonio McKee tells Mirror.co.uk that he's putting the lightweights in the UFC on notice -- he's coming and he plans on running through every one of them. Long thought of as one of the best wrestlers in MMA, it took "Mandingo" until the age of 40 and an 11 fight win streak to make his way to the world's largest fight promotion. In fact, he hasn't lost a fight since dropping a decision to Karo Parisyan in February of 2003.

ESPN Deportes, ESPN's Spanish-language network in the U.S., will offer LIVE coverage of the Jungle Fight Championship this Saturday, December 18, 2010 at 7:00 p.m. EST. The matchups will take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the breeding ground for the best Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) talent.
The coverage will include four bouts, including the main draw, the much anticipated fight between Brazilian natives Edilberto de Oliveira against Luis Sergio da Fonseca Melo.

UFC Lightweight Champion Frankie Edgar knows that if he beats Gray Maynard at UFC 125 on Jan. 1, he will have avenged his one career loss and the critics won't have much to say about him anymore -- at least as a fighter. Both he and his opponent have been dominant throughout their careers but it hasn't translated to the box office. In fact, most of the talk heading into their New Year's Day rematch has revolved not around who the winner of the fight will be, but whether or not anyone will pay to see it.
Read the full article for a great quote from Fankie Edgar regarding his upcoming rematch with Gray Maynard.

A deal to bring Fedor Emelianenko back to the Strikeforce cage has not been finalized, according to representatives from the California-based promotion and M-1 Global.
And while a matchup between Emelianenko and Strikeforce heavyweight Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva is possible, a Strikeforce official today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) a date is not set.
"It all depends where these negotiations take us," Strikeforce spokesperson Mike Afromowitz said.
An article going over some of the logistics of the return of The Last Emperor

GLENDALE, Ariz. – Donald Cerrone picked up a quality win against a notable opponent, but following the WEC 53 performance, he wasn't exactly in a celebratory mood.
Cerrone (13-3 MMA 5-3 WEC), a five-time "Fight of the Night" winner with the WEC, saw plenty of problems in his second-round submission win over Chris Horodecki (16-3 MMA, 2-2 WEC).
More specifically, he wanted to beat the former kickboxer at his own game.
The fight was one of four that aired on Versus from Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz. It was the final WEC show before the organization's merger with its sister promotion, the UFC. With roster spots at a premium, it was important for Cerrone and other fighters to make a good impression in the WEC's final show.

Believe it or not, the sensational kick Anthony Pettis used to floor Benson Henderson was inspired by the cult martial-arts classic, "Ong Bak."
Pettis' coach, Duke Roufus, said he's played around with "old-school" Muay Thai techniques for several years, and the crazy kick that Pettis landed is just one such attack.
"I just believe in being creative," Roufus today told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "Anthony is a lifelong martial artist, and I'm a lifelong martial artist, and we're just trying to keep evolving and blend it all together."
A great piece on the Showtime Kick, with embedded video of the kick itself! Also, if you have not already, watch the original Ong-Bak the Thai Warrior. No handed cartwheel between two pieces of glass? Amazing

UFC, Strikeforce and EliteXC veteran Fabricio Camoes and undefeated prospect David "The Ultimate Male" Bollea are among the additions to Tachi Palace Fights' finalized 11-bout lineup for "TPF 8: All or Nothing."

The self-proclaimed "Baddest Man on the Planet" already has Bellator Fighting Championships gold around his waist.
Now he's looking to put Olympic gold around his neck.
Bellator featherweight champion Joe Warren (6-1 MMA, 4-0 BFC) plans on making a return to the international wrestling scene next year in an effort to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic Games.
Bellator Featherweight Champion Joe Warren discusses his future plans, including his intentions to compete in the 2012 London Olympic Games

GLENDALE, Ariz. – While Anthony Pettis was the talk of the town following WEC 53, it was Eddie Wineland who nearly walked away with the evening's SportsCenter moment.
Fighting on the evening's preliminary card, Wineland earned the card's "Knockout of the Night" with a vicious first-round slam of WEC newcomer Ken Stone.
The first WEC Bantamweight Champion Eddie Wineland discusses his powerful knockout slam against WEC newcomer Ken Stone

Sean Pierson has had two lifelong dreams come true recently. He won his UFC debut over Matt Riddle, and he was hired by the Toronto Police Department. Unfortunately, his persona as a fighter has prevented him from being a cop.
A relatively short but disheartening article.

While official word has yet to come, the Ultimate Fighting Championship is targeting Louisville, Ky., for its upcoming UFC on Versus 3 event. Both the KFC Yum! Center and Freedom Hall are under heavy consideration to host the event. UFC on Versus 3 takes place March 3 and is expected to feature a headlining bout between welterweights Martin Kampmann and Diego Sanchez. The KFC Yum! Center hosts a variety of sporting and entertainment events and is the primary home of the University of Louisville's mens and women's basketball teams. The arena holds up to 22,000 fans, though it's likely that a smaller seating configuration would be used with a UFC event. Freedom Hall, meanwhile, is a multipurpose arena that seats more than 19,000 people. It formerly hosted UL's men's basketball team.

It was the Kick Heard 'Round the World, a climbing, twisting, off-the-wall, out-of-the-video-games-and-into-Ben-Henderson's-face, mind-scrambler of a strike in the 25th and final minute of a WEC championship match that shot Anthony Pettis into the consciousness of sports fans everywhere.
While his aim is to stay there for more than just one night, it's safe to say that regardless of his future, the 23-year-old cemented himself a place in MMA history by authoring one of the sport's most incredible moments.
I want more!!!

Thursday's WEC 53 event at Jobing.com Arena in Glendale, Ariz., scored an attendance figure of 6,348. If the Arizona State Boxing Commission verifies the figure in the coming week, it'll rank as the seventh-best-attended event in the WEC's nearly 10-year and 53-event history. It was also the second-highest attendance mark for a show outside of California (only WEC 47 in Ohio drew more). Glendale, a Phoenix-area city, earned the right to host WEC 53 by winning the Amp Energy "Hometown Throwdown" contest. Fans could vote for 30 potential host sites, and Phoenix/Glendale – which is home to WEC 53 competitors Benson Henderson and Jamie Varner – emerged victorious. The show marked the WEC's debut in Arizona.

Fighting and Entertainment Group (FEG) today added another round of match-ups to its annual New Year's Eve show as FieLDS Dynamite!! returns to the Saitama Super Arena on Dec. 31 in Saitama, Japan. Former Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi will make his return to the K-1 circuit to compete against Kyotaro in a kickboxing bout that marks "The Dreamcatcher's" first K-1 rules bout since a TKO win over Musashi at Dynamite!! 2008. Joining them will be Super Hulk Champion Ikuhisa Minowa taking on judo silver medalist Hiroshi Izumi while Japanese mainstay Hayato Sakurai answers the call of "The Kansas City Bandit" Jason High.

World Victory Road today announced 4 more fights for their massive year-end event on December 30 in Tokyo. They included a pair of cross-promotion bouts with Sengoku's Maximo Blanco vs. DREAM lightweight Won Sik Park and former Sengoku champ Masanori Kanehara vs. DREAM featherweight Yoshiro Maeda. Additionally, Roxanne Modafferi meets fellow Strikeforce vet Hitomi Akano, and Misaki Takimoto takes on former kickboxer Amy Davis. This now brings the MMA portion of the event up to a planned 15 fights. The organization also today announced a Muay Thai fight between Fabiano Cyclone and Andrew Pekc, who replaces Ryuta Noji.